I’m not doing Family Guy or The Simpsons reviews anymore. I don’t enjoy reviewing those shows nearly as much as these two. And I also didn’t review Duncanville and HouseBroken during the summer because I don’t like the latter and I didn’t have time to do the former and don’t like it as much as BB/TGN anyways. I did enjoy tonight’s episode of The Simpsons though.

SPOILERS BELOW!

“Manic Pixie Crap Show”

Thoughts: I thought this was a great entry to the season. I didn’t understand the subplot at first but eventually it got to a point where I felt bad for Linda knowing she didn’t get to say goodbye to her actual dog who died. Knowing the flower was a supposed to be a way for Linda to finally say goodbye through Mort’s help was somewhat heartwarming to me. And Linda won by the end too.

The main plot was also pretty good. I wish there was more explaining on why Millie Park Day matters so much to Louise and what she is going to get out of it but that’s rather minor. The main is where most of the laughs came from me, and I liked Millie’s plan even if Louise took it in her own trajectory. It really felt like classic Louise. Louise even stood up for Millie in the end which was rather nice. And even complimented Tina. Ignore those bullies Tina!

Overall, “Manic Pixie Crap Show” is a promising start to what hopefully is a season that gets the show back on track. It was focused and had a good pacing to it where I didn’t feel confused or distracted. I felt engaged and laughed at a lot of the jokes. Louise pretending to be the evil pixie made me laugh pretty hard. It reminds me why I love this show so much, and why the quality of it remains pretty good 200 episodes in.

8/10

“Brace/Off Adventure”

Thoughts: So The Great North has had some musical numbers in season 1, but this is the first on musical episode. That being said, Central Park is the best show on television right now for me, so I went into this with high expectations. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet what I was expecting. It’s not to say this episode is bad because it isn’t in the slightest. It’s actually a solid enough episode. One thing I really liked about this episode is how Beef tells Judy that growing up is okay. To me, it feels like a continuation from season 1’s arc about growing up and moving on from old things. He really is a great dad and that’s one of my favorite things about the show. It’s also rather sweet to see the whole family join in on his talk. I also like the metaphor of Judy drowning with her teeth because she’s not willing to let go of them, so she ends up dying with them.

As for the musical numbers themselves, I really liked the first one and the “Brace Yourself” song (which, by the way, was a great performance from Paul F. Tompkins). But the rest don’t have that “wow” factor, at least when you compare them to Central Park‘s bangers, or even tonight’s Simpsons episode. I get that Central is more Broadway centered than North. But I would have expected at least one Broadway song from this episode, given that this is likely the only musical episode in this season at least. I would like to see the writing team tackle another musical, because I really would love to see Judy sing Broadway style. It fits her character perfectly. We’ve gotten Molly doing it so many times, specifically in “Trying too Hard” or “Paint the World”. I just hope one day my wish comes true, where I get to see a Great North character sing Broadway style. There were about eight songs in this episode and most of them were rather short and didn’t really live up to what I was hoping for, unfortunately.

To sum up my thoughts, “Brace/Off Adventure” is far from terrible, because I think it is solid. But it feels confused at times and the pacing a bit wonky, specifically when a character interrupts the song and then it resumes. I don’t like it all that much when that happens, sorry. I won’t hold many of my opinions against the episode, because I don’t think it’s fair to the people who write on the show. They’re definitely very talented people for sure, because I think this is the best show on the Fox Animation Domination block right now. I just think this episode didn’t quite land for me at least, and I see a lot of potential in this show. Either way, I’m still looking forward to what the next forty five episodes within the next two seasons will bring us, and maybe more if the network wants to renew it for a season 4. Only time will tell.

7/10

Also, before I sign off, rest in peace Bless the Harts. You had a great second season and could have had an amazing third. You’ll always hold a special place in my heart. -orangemo